garrard 401 - thorens td150

[b6ave]

Hello all,

Im new to the site and this is my first thread. Im also new to vinyl and have inherited a early model garrard 401 with sme 3009 tone arm and a thorens td150 with the original tone arm on there. I want to mod one or the other or both eventually. I have heard and have been listening to the garrard and it sounds amazing. Ive not heard the thorens yet as it wasnt working and the shop I left it with to have a look for me and have got it working at no charge and have said that it doesnt sound great and maybe not worth doing up. what do you guys think, is it worth doing up. I have found a company up north that will fit new plinth linn springs new lid arm board etc for about £500 and ive looked at going for a modded tone arm such that the rega rb250 modded by audiomods although they say a rega arm isnt good for a thorens again is this right? I really dont know whether or not to mod them both or sell one and use the money to mod the other an want are the best mods too do. Any suggestions on what would be best. Perhaps someone has both or one or the other and can tell me what one sounds the best once modded and what mods were done. Or should I just sell them both and save up for a p9 or a second hand lp12. Ive done alot of research but they all seem to contradict each other and confuse me more an its not that easy to demo the options either so any help would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Mike

[Trackside]

Keep the 401 and sell the 150 - no contest.

[b6ave]

Hello Trackside,

I take it theres a massive difference in the two then. Have you got or had a garrard and can you recommend any mods maybe?

Thanks,

Mike

[Trackside]

I've had a 150 and modded it but it was never very satisfactory. Never had a 401 but it would be on my list of must have TT's. The 150 is a modest midrange TT but the 401 is up there with the very best. Plenty of info out on the net about modding them but apart from a suitable plinth mods should be avoided and it should only need restoring to original working condition to perform optimaly.

[b6ave]

Cool thanks for that. Do you or anyone else have any recommendations on what arm to go for on the garrard. Its currently got the 3009 improved with a shure cartridge is this a keeper or shall I change it? Are rega arms a good choice ? Ive found a good place for plinths and can get a good solid plinth made up for the deck.

Thanks,

Mike

[paul401]

Hi,
I have a 401, running with an SME 3009 S2 arm, and it's a very good sounding deck, the bass is especially good. Keep it.
I also own a Thorens 150, (running with stock arm) and although not as good as the 401 it is still capable of a really good musical performance (imho), they are great little decks, and do benefit from up-grading, simple things like a better/stronger plinth etc.

The Rega 250 / Thorens debate seems to roll on forever, no definitive outcome. Some say yes and some say no!

Most important, do check the spindle/bearing of the 401 for oil. The general concensus is for a 'heavy' solid plinth.

There are plenty of threads and advice for both decks here on VE and on the web. As for arms for the 401, think it's pretty much take your pick.

Paul

[goatbreath]

The 401 and td150 are very different turntables..Both are great I think..A Linn Sondek is basically a tweaked and tarted up TD150,,they can sound great..Different presentation from the 401 though..The original arm is quite high mass though..It can of course be changed though..It seems the parts from the original arm are fetching quite a price too..The main problem is bent motor shafts on Thorens suspended belt drives..Motors are very difficult to get..As for it not sounding good,,HMMM !!! check Ebay for the prices they fetch..They are not sought after because they sound crap...It sounds a bit suspect to me..But maybe that is just me..

[Trackside]

If they were vintage cars the 401 would be an E-type Jag and the TD150 Porsche 912

[steve195527]

If they were vintage cars the 401 would be an E-type Jag and the TD150 Porsche 912

by that do you mean its going to cost a fortune to keep the 401 running right/to stop it falling in bits:-E types look good but rust like a Lancia beta whereas the cheaper slower simpler Porsche(VW) will go on and on!

[AudioSoul]

The TD-150 is worth doing up as you call it. But only if you can do the work yourself. To pay someone would not be cost effective for the value of the TT....

[Eoin]

An SME 3009 is a classic match to a 401. You can spend money if you want but you might not improve it.

You can sent it off to get refurbished, a new plinth will help a lot, I wonder if some of new SME arms would work..

[b6ave]

I got both the decks for free so happy to spend a bit of money on them. So far I've bought the dynavector
P75mk 2 phono stage which works well with my system. Will def get a plinth for garrard. I thought the 3009 improved arm was the less sort after arm. A new sme must make a huge difference. Well I'm assuming so. Have you got a 401 or have any experience with arms etc?

Thanks,
Mike

[Boukman]

Keep the 401 and the 3009. I have that combo and also a 401 with an SME V. The 401/3009 combo is one one of THE british audio classics, and sound better than most. For a solid plinth check out Russell Collins (www.layersofbeauty.com). He's made 3 of those for me and they are beautiful and work extremely well with the Garrard and SME's. I would consider changing the cartridge to either an Ortofon 2M black, SAE 1000 or Nagaoka MP500.

For a newbie - I cannot imagine a much better start! And the Garrard works and is low maintenance.

Good luck

[Boukman]

The SME V with Ortofon 2m Black on the Garrard if you want to spend money. Sounds awesome, beats the old 3009. Although the 3009 is fantastic already.